Pending since 2014, the go-ahead to shift 141 final-year students of Pathankot’s Chintpurni Medical College came on Monday, finally, from the medical education and research department.

Pending since 2014, the go-ahead to shift 141 final-year students of Pathankot’s Chintpurni Medical College came on Monday, finally, from the medical education and research department.

The students have been divided equally among three government colleges and six private institutions. “The list mentioning the respective place of readmission was sent to the Chintpurni college management on Monday and we expect the shifting to be over within a week,” said Dr Raj Bahadur, vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, who heads the transfer process.

The principals of all the colleges that are to adjust these students were called for a meeting in Chandigarh on Monday, where they were handed the list in the presence of Dr Raj Bahadur and medical education and research director Dr Manjit Kaur Mohi. “Of the 141 students, 43 already appeared for the final examination at Chintpurni College last December. They will only undergo the mandatory internship at the new colleges, and the rest will attend final-year classes until the end of this year,” said Dr Raj Bahadur. The interns will only pay the migration fee to the new colleges. The rest will pay the existing fee based on quota allotted in the original college.

“Students selected under government quota will be readmitted to private colleges in same category and pay the fee accordingly,” explained Dr Mohi. She said the list mentioned how many students were joining under the government and management quotas, for which the fee structure is different. Those being admitted to government colleges will pay their last-year fee accordingly.

Worry for students joining Gian Sagar

Of the shifted students, 18 have been adjusted in Gian Sagar Medical College, where classes are suspended for the past one month of protest by teachers and non-teaching employees, who have not been paid for six months. The scheduled meeting between the medical education secretary and the college management could not take place on Monday.

Medical education secretary Hussan Lal confirmed that the college management had been called for another meeting with minister Anil Joshi in the next two-three days, “where their exact payoff to staff will be discussed”. “In case they fail to honour their commitment, we have other ways of putting things in order. We can’t let Gian Sagar students suffer the fate of Chintpurni College students,” he added.

Shift explained

In 2014, the first batch of Chintpurni Medical College students (admitted in 2011) began their protest to seek transfer after intake was barred in the years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2015-16. Students feared that their degrees wouldn’t be legitimate.

After a long legal battle that began with the Punjab and Haryana high court directions in September 16, 2014, these students are finally being shifted now. This January, the high court imposed a fine of `1 lakh on the Medical Council of India (MCI), while hearing the contempt petition filed by the students.